Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-06-01

The POLAR BEAR.
habits of .he Powerful Animal in Its Icy
Northern Home.

habits of she Powerful Animal in Its Icy
Northern Home.
Sustena1ce of life forms the chief care
CT the Mute race of Alaska; the struggle
to obtain a food supply is the absorbing
thought throughout the entire cycle of
their existence, says the San Francisco
Chronicle Nature seems to have provided
certain amin lls peculiarly adapted to the
hyperborean region, and eminsntly fitted
to afford sustenancs to the race which has
to Withstand the exigencie5 AMI severe
climatic chan ges of an arctic zone. The
principal animals inhabiting the waters of
Northwestern Alaska are the various
members Of the seal family. Seal meat,
| as cooked by the natives, is of q dirty
brick-red tint owing to the fact that when
killed the seal is simply skinned, the blood
remaining in the carcass, acting
as a coloring matter TO the meat
To unaccustomed stomachs seal meat is
unpalatable, its taste resembling fish
more than flesh, while the oily odor is of
course prevalent. But if when newly
caught seal is bied and the f1esh allowed
to soak for a few hours the meat, either
fried or baked, becomes palatable. When
frozen there is scarcely any flavor percept-
ible in the rqeat
Ursus Americanus, or the white polar
bear, is also food supplier for the Mutes.
| The extent OF bruins travels in the Arctic
region are far and wide. Observations by
Captain Healy, of the United States revenue
marine, prove the fact that the polar bears
southern limit Of range is ST. Matthew
Island in the Behring sea. / believe that
few of tn ese bears were seen some years
! ago near the Seal islands. Probably the
! season was late one, and they were seen
upon large ice foe drifting. At st.
| Matthew the polar bears have lairs and
| dens among the rocky gielS that
| diversity that island. There, it is pre-
| sume1, the young bears are born, or at
least proportion of the cubs. The Poi mt
| Belcher na tive3 told me that in December,
when tho sun goes away entirely, the she
| bears make snow house out upon the
sea ice au1 there give birth TO heir Young
| There is some evidence of the truth in
| this statement, as it is rare thing to OBJ
| tam the skin of a female bear shot during
| the winter. The Ursus Am mericanus feeds
! upon seal and walrus an1 dead drift
whales; although disdaining to deyour
| the blubber, the flesh is greedily consum-
| ed. A carcass upon which a bear has
! passed his gastronom;c judgment reveals
! the skin and its fatty lining torn assunder,
while the flesh is cut up into strips and
| shreds By the powerful claws and teeth.
| One single blow of bears claws alight-
ing upon seals head su1lces to kill him,
| and dragged upon the ice, meal is soon
| dispatched.
The largest white bear 1 ever saw was
shot in November, 1856 His measure
ments were II feet inches from tip of
tail to nose, G feet inches girth, Is inches
across from ear to ear, and finch skull,
while the track of his paws measured 1111
inches Generally tho average m easure-
| ment is feet in length. In simmer the
hairy coat of the polar bear turns to
dingy yellow, and its pelt then becomes
useless. These bears are arrant towards,
| and will not attack any one unless there
are two or three in company. AS soon as
they scent man approaching they run
away as fast as they can. There are but
| few records of a bear killing any
native along the northwestern coast.
The Mute5 are very partial to white
bear meat but tho blubber
they reject, and even the dogs, un-
less they are very hungry, turn up their
noses at the oily mass. 1t is almost an
impossibilitv to obtain an entire skin OF
any kind of bear. The Mutes throughout
the territory cut off the head and claws
and either throw them into the sea or run
ming water or else bury them IN the
ground. This is doae TO enable the hunter
to kill more bears, and the idea is that il
| the other bears see the heads or claws
Of their dead friends they viii leave the
| district.
Brown bears frequent the mountainous
| regions of the Arctic coast. They follow
the herds of deer in their summer migra-
tions, but are seldom seen in the winter
that season being the hibernating period
| Their pelts are disposed of to the traders
| and whalerS.-Cor. SIn Francisco Chronicle